While the Yankees Chick values hard work as much as any sadistic boot-camp drill sargeant, I sincerely hope that you all have been taking some time off work this week (or at least busting out your MLBTV subscription at your desk) to bear witness to what may amount to the key to the Yankees' post-season dreams. After blowing the series against the Tigers and hammering a couple of strong nails into their season coffin, the boys played gracious host to the new Yankees Red Sawx and graciously swept the ugly red socks right off of them. They hit well, striking first in all 3 games, and flexed some non-steroided muscle (2 homers by Cano and 1 each for Jeet, Demon, and A-Rod), but the most promising thing about this series is that the Yanks won these games on pitching. Pettitte, Rocket, and the Wangster all earned themselves W's and the bullpen did a great job of actually maintaining the lead (except for Farnsworthless, who very nearly blew it yesterday, but that is to be expected - that doofus should not be trusted any more than a Republican Senator denying classy airport bathroom encounters), leading me to believe there may truly be a chance that the many implosions and injuries suffered by the pitching staff may not damn the team after all. What the Yankees needed out of this series was a confidence booster - and I could not have scripted the outcome better!

The YCD (Yankees Chick Dad, obv [who incidentally happens to be Boomer's doppleganger in both appearance and afflictions!]) has been out on Mussina for years now, dubbing him "Pussina" and predicting a loss each and every time his turn in the rotation comes about, and after this past month I think we can all concur that the Moose has officially moved into the dunzo category. During his last 3 starts he gave up 19 earned runs in a laughable 9 2/3 innings, getting himself yanked in the 2nd inning last week and the 3rd on Sunday - an impressive feat in its own right - and now Torre and the Cash Man have finally decided to stop the bleeding with a good old fashioned call-up tourniquet. Moose's next start will be handed over to last year's first round draft pick Ian Kennedy, a 22-year-old USC alumnus who has blazed his way through the Yanks farm Chamberlain-style. He's been tearing up the minors, holding opposing batters to a ridiculous .182 average in 146 1/3 cummulative minor league innings, rockin a 1.29 ERA in 11 games with Class A Tampa, 2.59 in 9 starts with AA Trenton, and 2.08 in 6 starts down in Scranton.

With just 30 games to go and a trickier schedule to navigate than that of the Sawx (luckily, the Mariners will be having a similarly rough September playing the Angels and Tigers), I'm glad Torre and the Cash Man are realizing that forfeiting one of every five games by letting Moose play could very well be the difference between an October of baseball or one of golf. The option for Moose to pitch again after this start is skipped is still open as he remains on the active roster and Torre has not said definitively one way or the other, but I would imagine that decision would be based on Kennedy's performance on Saturday. As a newly faithful convert to the YCD's "Pussina" theory and a fan of the farm, I'm crossing my fingers that his debut will be akin to King Joba's or Price Philip's... and nothing like poor Chase Wright's.

We're getting down to the wire, lovelies, and the Yanks appear to have reverted back to their old "we cannot win a game unless we totally obliterate the team by scoring like 234902 runs in the first 2 innings" ways at precisely the wrong time. It goes without saying (although clearly here I am saying it anyway, oh well) that there is simply no more margin for error at this point in the season. There are no more "we'll get 'em tomorrow" or "we've still got time to make up ground" excuses to assuage our worries. It is offically Do Or Die time. This team must win a huge majority of the remaining games - literally about 75% - and also hope for a slowdown from Seattle (honestly, have they replaced those dudes with some special baseball robots?! How the f*ck do they keep winning?!) and some kind of curse/failure/plaugue to be cast upon the Sox to remain competitive in the division or wildcard race.

The good news - hear me out on this one - is that we've still got 6 games to play against Boston. Perhaps that doesn't sound particularly promising, but consider this: if the Yankees are able to win 4, 5 or (please) 6 of those games, they not only gain ground (obviously) but simultaneously knock a chunk of confidence off Boston's inflated head (Balco B-sized, except metaphorically) and put some fire back into their own game, too. The games against Boston will be particularly mission-critical because the Yankees will have the unique opportunity to crush a bit of Boston's spirit if they can manage to humiliate them at all. Recall, if you will, the glorious 5-game sweep the Yanks executed last August, and the demoralization of the Sox that ensued. Of course that was last year and the lineups and injury situations were different, but at that point in the season the Red Sox were still considered contenders going into the series. After losing those games, the Sox's (Sox= an un-grammar-able word) season was essentially over. It's obviously very unlikely that even a sweep would rock the Sox so much so that they would break down and blow the whole season, but series wins would certainly give the Yanks a much-needed boost in self-confidence... hopefully enough to surge through their series in Seattle and into that wildcard spot.

Here are the expected pitching matchups for the Sawx series:
Tuesday 8/28 7:05pm: Dice K (13-9, 3.76) vs Andy Pettitte (11-9, 3.69)
Wednesday 8/29 7:05pm: Becket (16-5, 3.21) vs Rocket (5-5, 4.34)
Thursday 8/30* 1:05pm: Schilling (8-5, 4.11) vs Wangster (15-6, 3.95)

At least we've got our best boys out there - if I had to look at Moose pitch one more inning I think I would smash my skull into a brick wall.


*The Yankees Chick's birthday! A sweep by the Yanks would be an excellent present...

Saturday is no day for a proper update - - - especially a Saturday when the Yankees Chick went to bed at 4am after watching a 4-hour Yankees game that began 4 hours late due to some light mist that couldn't even be called proper rain and then when they finally did play they essentially gave up after, say, inning #8 (which, of course, was right after Joba "Bow Down To My Greatness" Chamberlain left the game; perhaps they were all in such awe of his infallibility they simply could not re-focus their attention on actually playing baseball), subsequently losing the game in the 11th inning off a cheap bloop single and a walk-off homer by a dude that totally isn't even good at all*. Sigh.

On that bitter note, I am in no mood for writing. Here's some links for you to enjoy, links that lead to things written by less-bitter folks:

• Mientkicantspellhisname is on the road to return! Can't live without that hot bat!
• When do I get a Yankees Chick bobblehead?
• Maybe when that bobblehead gets made we can get a special gang hat made for it, too, and then terrorize the nation with our gang of bobble-rockin' thugs.
• When I read this power-rankings list I thought "WHAT?! The Yankees are only #6?" Then I thought, "Hey, cool, the Yankees aren't #7."
• You might want to think twice about wearing that Michael Vick jersey for a while.
  

*bitter lie.

Ah, you other 29 teams... How I love to remark upon your strengths and expose your weaknesses in just 10 words (or less!) each week. I like to think these updates encourage fans of teams other than the Yankees to read what the good ol' Yankees Chick has to say. I also like to think anyone could be encouraged to read anything the good ol' Yankees Chick has to say. Dreams are fun!

Gather 'round, children, for the Yankees Chick has a tale to tell. 'Tis a tale of true sorrow, of heroes and martyrs, a story so entwined in inexplicable mystery it will leave you pondering your very existence upon its completion. It is known to some as "The Angels Have The Yankees Number" or even "Couldn't You Have Predicted This By Now?", but I know it by its true name: "The Great Angels Mystery".

Long, long ago, in a universe full of pixies and fat dudes that hit homers without the help of anything more potent than a street-vendor hot dog, a team was born. This team, which was eventually to be known by the glorious moniker "The Yankees", seemed destined for greatness from the start. They found success year after year and watched their fanbase grow in spades as a result. They had the most fans and wooed the best young players. Everyone from doctors to janitors to musical theater producers was intrigued by the team, and seemingly no one could stop them. [cue dark foreshadowing music]

Years later, while the Yankees continued on with their winning ways unfettered out on the east coast, out west another team was born. Unlike the Yankees, this team, which found its home first in LA and then in a crappy neighborhood of Orange County, a place no one outside the far-superior LA-area cared much about until that trashed-up Fox show debuted, was not met with initial triumph. The team was owned by Gene Autry - a singing cowboy for christsake - and then by Disney, and while there is no doubt that "Angels in the Outfield" and all of the "Mighty Ducks" movies are stellar examples of 1990's cinema, the Hollywood crew did not make much out of their team. Sure, they had Nolan Ryan and a few close calls in the 1980's, but they only managed to win their division 3 times in their first 40 years of existence. No one much cared about the team. Even Nolan Ryan once said "I sure do wish I was pitching all these no-hitters for a team that will one day be enjoyed by a girl from Los Angeles named Maureen" (roll with it).

Late in the 20th century, the magnificent team from the east and this cheesy Disney-fied team from the west began colliding in a most horrendous fashion. Somehow, despite the fact that the Yankees were enjoying one of the best eras in franchise history, producing star (Jeet) after star (Bernie!) and becoming regular forces in the playoffs, the Angels managed to win against them. A lot. They began winning pretty much every series during which the teams faced off, including a few tragic season-enders (for the Yanks), regardless of the strength of the Yankees or the weakness of the stupid Angels (and I do mean STUPID; they changed their name to "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" - - first off, Anaheim is not in Los Angeles at all; second, "Los Angeles" means "The Angels" en espanol, which I suppose the team would know if they were actually IN Los Angeles amongst folks other than rich white people. In other words, they changed their name from "The Anaheim Angels" to "The The Angels Angels of Anaheim"). While the Yankees' legendary rivalry with the Boston "Seriously, We Are Totally The New Yankees Minus The Championships" Red Sox remained a popular feud to monitor, it seemed and still seems that the Yankees true rivals are those Jesus-loving (I made that up, but Angels and Jesus go together, so I'm impugning them thusly) Disney characters of non-Los Angeles.

Now that you have heard this frightening story - and please do accept my most sincere apologies, as you surely will suffer nightmares for the next several days as a result of reading this - perhaps you can help in the solving of the mystery. To my knowledge, there exists no explanation for the Angels' dominance over the dear Bombers.

The end...?

Since the MLB infamously adjusted the rules for the American League in 1973, allowing a designated hitter to bat in place of the pitcher and play no position defensively, the strategic aspects of the game changed dramatically for the AL. In fact, there is a lot to be said for the argument that the introduction of the DH essentially eliminated a lot of the roster challenges and accompanying strategy demands faced by the NL - all that pinch hitting, substitution, and pitchers-having-to-practice-their-bunting-technique mumbojumbo is generally nowhere to be found in the AL these days. For the most part, the only time we get to see some serious in-game roster-switcheroo action from an AL team is during interleague play or the World Series (or in a Yanks game during which 15 players get injured). Even after reading up on the issue and trying to see the argument for the instatement of the strange rule and the decision to make it applicable to just one of the two leagues, I must say that I think the games would be more interesting overall if Torre, Francona, Leyland, et al had to manage their bench and bullpen in the same fashion as the other folks.

This year, though, rather than being able to count on one go-to DH (see Big "I like it when you call me Big Papi" Papi), the Yankees have had to operate with near NL-calibur management. What with the injuries to so many players and the ill-conceived 456289-man platoon plan for first base not working out exactly like one (and I really do mean "one" here, as in the Cash Man) might have hoped, Torre has been shuffling players in and out of that DH spot on a near-daily basis to accomodate for pitching matchups and the strengths/weaknesses of his available players. Giambi was initially slated to be the everyday "don't let him on the field" hitter, but we've seen Matsui, Demon, A-Rod, and Posada all take their turns in the role, too. Torre has carefully allocated resting days for folks like A-Rod and Posada - whose bats the team cannot afford to do without but deserve the occasional break from the field nonetheless - and tried to keep Melky in the outfield as often as possible thanks to his stellar home-run spoiling defensive capabilities out there, and has even made room for folks like Shelley "GIMME SOME RITALIN FOLKS WOOOOT!!!" Duncan and Wilson "Seriously, say my last name really fast, it is fun!" Betemit to get some at-bats, too.

As I've mentioned countless times before, this team really is a whole lot better than their record suggests. A lot of people have skewered Torre and hefted a lot of the blame right onto his sensitive and perhaps overly sentimental shoulders, but I think his management of the DH situation is a good reminder to all of us that he honestly has done the best he could do with his regards to the offense. As for his pesky habit of picking one reliever and insisting on using him every single game until his poor bedragled body literally crumbles into pitcher-dust on the floor of the clubhouse, let's just say he could use a little work.

When it comes to the baseball world, few things make me happier than proving others wrong (wait, let's be honest - my love of being right extends far beyond just baseball), and this beautiful team has been most kind to the Yankees Chick over the past month or so. Obviously the fact that they have catapulted themselves right up into the post-season race in both the wildcard and the division, putting quite the kink in the joy of all the self-important gloating Red Sawx fans, has been a source of some keen enjoyment on my part, but I also feel the unmatchable glee of "I Told You So" syndrome every time The Rocket pitches. There were naysayers aplenty when his return to the Yanks was announced from cynics on the Yanks' side and from the peanut gallery (AKA those other 29 teams); despite the complete lack of evidence of the old-age slowdown most elderly pitchers exhibit, his advanced age was taken by many to be a sure sign that he would not be the contributer this team so desperately needed. Most thought that his age might finally catch up to him, or that he would only be able to pitch 4 or 5 innings at best (even I feared that aspect, I will admit), or that his diva-esque demands might alienate him from the rest of the crew or breed animosity in some way, rendering his signing relatively pointless.

Alas, the haters were wrong yet again. After 13 starts he's struck out 57 while walking just 19 (and plunking a few, totally deservedly), making him one of the steadiest of all the Yankees pitchers this year. Had it been any other old dude, I would have had little faith myself, but folks, it's the ROCKET. He's been employed as an "Official Old Man River Pitcher" for several years now - no one should be surprised by his ability to keep on rolling this year. As for his special treatment, I have not seen the Yankees make any policy exceptions for Grandpa Clemens or expect any less from him than from any other pitcher since the moment he signed. He is on the road trips, shows up on days he doesn't pitch, and has seemingly gone out of his way to help the youngsters with their pitching, too. Is he a Cy Young candidate? No. But with the help he's provided at the mound and in spirit, certainly he deserves some sort of distinguishing "Senior Citizen Hero" accolade.

Being that I am the Yankees Chick and not merely the "Baseball Bitch", "Sports Sistah", or "Athletes Afficionada" (and now that I think about it, consider those all pending copyright), I clearly have a strong love for the Yanks and a bit of a homer bias. However, as I have mentioned many times on this here bloggity, I pride myself on being as fair as possible - I don't make excuses when one of my boys is utterly useless (Farnsworthless), and I absolutely give credit to other teams where credit is due, even the evil (possibly terrorist) organization known as the Boston Red Sox. Like most people I have been disappointed with the Yankees' overall performance this year, and honestly I've been surprised at the way the Red Sox keep winning, because I really do think the Yankees are the better team! Could I be wrong? Come on now, is the Yankees Chick ever wrong (don't answer that)? Let's take a gander at both teams' respective roster, position for position, tit for tat, and if you still have some doubts about which team is truly superior - record aside, obv - give me a reason. Prove yourself. I dare ya!

My dearly beloved lovelies, the Yankees Chick does not have time to craft one of my usual full-length, in-depth, uniquely thought-provoking and chuckle-inducing posts (indulge me here, let's pretend that the other crap I post fits even one of the aforementioned descriptions) today, thanks to the demands of my real-life job. I do, of course, always have time to read pretty much every baseball-related (and Michael Vick-related, lately) newsie on the Internets, so let me throw a few of my faves of the day atcha:

• Giambino won't be penalized by Buddy Boy Selig, mainly because I guess Buddy realized that you can't really punish someone simply for not knowing when to shut the hell up.
• Jason Stark is sick of Balco B, and, like the rest of us, would rather focus on other milestones.
• The Padres are my NL team of choice (since I'm a San Diego gal... or was, anyway), and they scored more runs tonight than they have in approximately the last 4 months.
• Now that us Yanks fans have the fun of knowing that our farm system will actually produce players that we will indeed see on the team one day, we should pay attention when they sign their draft picks.
• Who doesn't love YouTube? Especially when people bust out guitars and make up songs?

I'm sure you're really stressed that I didn't do a "real" post yesterday OR today, but try to dry your tears on the picture you printed out of the Yankees Chick homepage and rest assured that I will update tomorrow.

This week's "Rest Of The League Roundup" is even better than ever (and really, isn't it always pure golden magic?!) thanks to the failures of so many of these teams of late. You know the drill: 10 words or less per team, no change to St. Louis's comment, and I still hate the imbalance of the AL West.

Classic Yankees great Phil "The Scooter" Rizzuto (no relation, thank god, to Scooter Libby) passed away today at the age of 89. An amazing player and popular and hilarious broadcaster (HOLY COW!), Rizutto was the oldest living Hall of Famer and will be missed by his countless fans and all his broadcasting colleagues.

Phil Rizzuto on Wikipedia
Phil's career stats
Jack O'Connell's tribute article on MLB

Unless you have taken up residence in a remote Unabomer-esque cave far beyond the reach of glorious TV signals (AKA the Yankees Chick's lifeblood), surely you are aware of the Yankees recent rise to top of the AL Wildcard race and within striking distance of the Boston "Just Call Us The New Yankees!" Red Sox. The team has been scoring runs like it's going out of style (which better not be the case) and the pitching staff has done a swell job keeping their collective ERA well under 5.00, and aside from the waste of space known as Kyle Farnsworthless every member of the team has contributed to the 2nd-half turnaround. As hard as all the boys have worked over the past couple months, I think it's plain to see that the team would be nowhere if not for the Yanks' own homegrown youngsters like Cano, Melky, Wang, Hughes, and Chamberlain.

Us Yankees fans have grown accustomed to watching Big Stein pay a big price for instant gratification over the years, and as a result of his megalomania I tend to restrain myself from getting too attached to any of the rookies that pass through the ranks. The past couple years, though, have been something of an anomaly, with the Steinster dangling one foot in the grave and defaulting some of his power to the Cash Man, and we have been lucky enough to actually hold on to the best and brightest of our dear children. Cano saved the day in 2005 by relieving the team of the burden known as Tony Womack (I'm sorry for bringing up those memories, lovelies), and his Dominican soul brother Melky made his first appearance that year as well, but we didn't really get a good handle on just how important these two were going to be until last season. Offensively they've been solid contributers, obviously, but both of them also possess a little thang called "defense", a skill long ignored by the likes of Johnny Demon and Jason "Just Call Me The Lunge-Master" Giambi but vital nonetheless. The Wangster proved himself similarly, coming up in the 2005 season but really shining last year - if you recall, he lost out in the Cy Young voting to Mr. Johan Santana. As for our latest (and perhaps greatest!) Yank-ettes, Hughes and Chamberlain, these phenoms have had a very limited time with which to impress us, but their respective much-anticipated debuts have been nothing if not utterly fantastic. In just 4 starts, Philly has struck out 22 batters while walking just 4! And Joba "If Michael Kay Reminds Us One More Time That I Am A Native American I Will Strangle Him With My Reservation-Born Hands" Chamberlain has been even more impressive, striking out 8 and walking only 2 while giving up zero runs in 5 innings (and oh yeah, did I mention he's a Native American?).

Big Stein and the Cash Man have had a plethora of opportunities to send these boys (not to mention Ian Kennedy, who is absolutely tearing up the minors this year) packing to many begging teams, but even in the face of what seemed like a disastrous season they chose to hold on to their assets and let the rest of the league squabble over veterans. Now that the team has shown that they are legitimate playoff contenders, thanks in large part to the aforementioned youngsters, we can only hope that the front office is 100% convinced and confident that they must hold on to these boys no matter how much begging the "Other 29" may do.

I'm in California for the week and heading to Disneyland today with the YCS's (Yankees Chick Sisters, obv), but even the lure of churros, Space Mountain, and crying children hopped up on sugar cannot deter me from my giddy glee over the latest and greatest Yankees news. To summarize:

I know, I'm sick of talking about it too. However, I promise this little video is not just a rehashing of my hate for Balco B - - there is a little wistful love for the Mick, too.


*And yes, I did indeed say "April 7th". I meant "August 9th". Cuz... they sound alike? I don't know what's wrong with me.

Last night marked a monumental occassion in baseball history as Balco B became the biggest douche to ever make the Yankees Chick tear up (don't even try to tell me you weren't getting a little misty-eyed when Barry choked up while mentioning his Pop), but rather than waste precious time and bandwidth rehashing a controversial milestone that I suspect most of us are already deathly ill of thanks to ESPN's non-stop playback and commentary, I feel it is imperative that we redirect our focus back to the Yankees. More so than any other time this year, they are right up in the thick of the post-season race - just a half game out of the wildcard and a not insurmountable 5 behind the Red Sox in the AL East. Big Stein and the Cash Man are keenly aware of the ground left to make up and the relatively short amount of time with which to work, and they are doing their best to craft the best possible 25-man roster out of all of their available resources. They've taken a number of steps to maximize the potential contributions of both the lineup and the pitching roster, and while it would be a lie of monstrous proportions to proclaim that anything truly ingenious has taken place in the way of roster moves, each change that has been made of late has made an impact. Philly Hughes' much-anticipated return from DL-ville upgraded the status of the starting rotation from an alarming "if one more of you morons gets injured the entire city of New York will simultaneously erupt into a violent rage" to a slightly more tolerable "well as long as you keep your collective ERA under 5 we will still cheer for you" (and as a sidebar, allow me to note that although he admittedly looked a tad shaky on Saturday, Hughes' credibilty among both the Yanks and the fans remains intact). Karstens was also activated from the DL and rejoined the team this time as a reliever, and last night Joba "How Fast Did You Rise Through The Farm System? Haha, Not As Fast As I" Chamberlain made his successful debut to the delight of Yanks fans and his teammates. Finally, Jason "Don't Bother Calling Me Giambino Anymore" Giambi returned to the lineup plantar fascia-free on Tuesday, and thankfully in a purely offensive capacity - Torre has no plans of allowing Jason anywhere near a first base glove anytime soon, thankfully. To make room on the roster for these boys, Mike Myers and Miguel Cairo were DFA, and Brian Bruney and fan favorite Kei Igawa (by "fan favorite" I of course mean "horrible, horrible signing by all accounts") have been busted back down to the farm.

As I mentioned before, since July 1st the Yankees have managed to cut the Red Sox's (grammar?) lead from 10.5 games down to 5, and they have gone from being 8.5 games out in the wildcard hunt to just half a game out as of today. I know that a lot of folks - BoSox fans in particular - wrote this team off long ago, but I think the Yanks recent performance has made many people rethink their opinion of this 2007 team. An especially irate Sox fan (aren't they all?) commented/shrieked on my last post about his/her utter lack of fear of the Yanks, but I truly do find it hard to believe that fans of Boston, Cleveland, Seattle and Detroit aren't getting nervous about the resurgance of the Yanks in the playoff mix.

That said... feel free to commence the hating in the comments section.

There's certainly no shortage of Yanks-related scoop about which to blog, but regardless of the state of los Bombers del Bronxo we must not forget the other teams in the league. As always with these updates, I will follow my self-imposed 10-word limit. Try to control your excitement!

If you feel like you've been waiting forever for Glavine, Balco B, and Sir A-Rod to reach their respective milestones, I've got good news for you: your wait is 2/3 over. ESPN has been bombarding us all with obnoxious "Milestone Watch" coverage day in and day out, and while I of course like to see a moment of baseball triumph as much as the next gal (or guy, or anyone in between [I do not want to isolate my hermaphrodite fans]), I have been eagerly anticipating the guys' milestones as much for the cessation of the coverage as for the thrills itself.

Since you are obviously connected to the internet somehow, I'm sure you already know that both A-Rod and Bonds hit homers yesterday, Bonds' finally tying him with Hank Aaron and A-Rod's making him the youngest player (by quite a margin) to get to 500. A-Rod hit his big homer off Kyle Davies - a man who is now destined to have his name appear on tv screens every time A-Rod's career landmarks are discussed - on the first pitch he saw Saturday (before his f-ing crazy wife even made it to the stadium!), and he seemed more than just a smidge relieved to have all that pressure finally alleviated. Sadly for A-Rod, the excitement over his achievement was eclipsed just hours later when Balco B finally hit #755 down in San Diego, but like most people I don't envision the Bondster holding that record for many years. Instead of dwelling on the big-headed asterisk monster, let's instead return our focus to the most talented man in the game - our own (for the time being) Alex Rodriguez. His career accolades and accomplishments are much too great in number to even begin to summarize here, so let's instead pay homage to the man by seeing how the rest of the baseball universe reacted to his big hit:

Big Stein: "This was a fantastic, monumental achievement."

Joe Torre: "This (500) is not a destination for him, this is a stopoff. I'm proud to be in the dugout with him. He's certainly going to stand tall with other guys who have worn the pinstripes."

Johnny Demon: "I think there was a lot of relief. The changing of the balls with the umpires, and the 3-1 sliders, and all those tough pitches. The pitchers did a great job, and I'm glad he got to jump on the first pitch he saw today. He had tremendous backspin on it. He didn't hit it as well as he could, but he just got enough." [Sorry it wasn't good enough for you Johnny. When was the last time YOU hit a ball past the pitcher?]

Kyle Davies: "I was trying to get a double play, a sinker down and in, and the ball came back over the middle a little bit. It's probably not the right pitch to him."

Barry Bonds (no, really): "Alex, I'm rooting for you. I'll be there for you. I'm praying for you. It's very tough."

...And finally, a few words from A-Rod on A-Rod:

"To do it at home and to wear this beautiful uniform that I appreciate and respect so much, it's special. New York is a special place. I've had my trials and tribulations here in New York, I've learned from them. I've had some great times, I've had some good times and I've had some tough times. A day like today kind of brings it full circle. Maybe there's a happy ending for me somewhere." [Big Stein needs to get on the horn with A-Rod while he's in an "I like New York" mood and somehow coerce him into signing an extension with the team...]

And what about the ball itself?! "I really want it back. But if not, I congratulate [Walter Kowalczyk] for catching it. Nice catch."

It seems that by enabling comments on my posts and prominently featuring a user-friendly portal for folks to communicate with me, I have opened myself up to the questions and concerns of my faithful readers (and those of you who stumbled upon me by some tragic link-clicking error). Who would have imagined the sheer number of people that have questions for little old me? Not me, that is for sure. I do receive quite a few questions, though, from thought-provoking inquiries about my opinion on actual baseball-related topics to curiosity about my personal life (not to mention my personal favorite, the "can I see your boobs" emails), and since the godforsaken Yankees lost last night and left me with nothing good to say, I think today is as a good a day as any to bust out the ol' mail bag and answer your questions.

Q: After all the trouble he has caused this year, do you think Torre should be fired?
A: I go back and forth on this one. I really do love Torre; he was a great player in his own right, has taken the team to the post-season 24536852489 times since becoming manager, and he is clearly a positive influence on the players as far as morale and positive reinforcement go. Furthermore, I really don't think it is fair to blame all of the Yankees' failure this year on him, because surely he can't control injuries or Johnny Demon sucking. That said, I do think it is time for him to hang up his hat at the end of the season. The team needs some fresh blood to revitilize the organization, someone, perhaps, that balks at using the same reliever every game for 30 consecutive days.

Q: What is wrong with this team?! How can the offense be so hot one day and get blanked the next?
A: While I am flattered that someone thinks I might have some insight into this problem, I truly believe that this is a phenomenon so rooted in mystery we may never have a logical explanation. I suppose they could be tired occassionally, but in a 9-man lineup one would think that they wouldn't all wind up so exhausted on the same day every time.

Q: Why aren't people talking about the Red Sox being the new Evil Empire?
A: Hey, I did mention this, quite a while back. Let's face it, Bosox fans, when it comes to selling off your youngsters to sign veterans, Boston is king these days. Red Sox fans are lucky Papelbon hasn't been shipped off to Colorado for Todd Helton yet.

Q: Do you think A-Rod will be a Yank in 2008?
A: This is a relatively easy one to answer: if Big Stein ponies up the big bucks for a buncha years, yes. Otherwise, give him my regards, Anaheim.

Q: Why do you hate Farnsworth so much?
A: Don't taunt me so. If you truly do not understand the source of my undying hate, tune in to the game tomorrow. Look for the big doofus with psuedo-nerd glasses eating bon-bons in the bullpen. Watch him saunter to the mound. Observe the perpetually mystified ("who, me? Durrrr") look on his face. Shake your head in disust as he throws ball after ball right up in the zone. Finally, gaze upon Posada's face as he silently curses God/Moses/Buddha/Ghandi/Satan/Greg Graffin for damning him to a life of catching for that hack. Then, my friends, you shall know.

Q: Can I see your boobs?
A: No.


Thank you for every comment, email, and singing telegram you send my way. I really do love you all - even you, man who spelled "boobs" as "bewbs".

The Yankees Chick is becoming quite the video-savvy blogger, my most delightful friends (and foes). For those of you that don’t like to read (in general or just the sub-par nattering with which I inundate this site), I have been making a concerted effort to provide your retinas and cochleae with visual and audio adaptations of my plentiful rants and occasional raves, and I am happy to report that I have yet another video for you to enjoy and/or send me hate mail about.

This one comes courtesy of the boys at Bleacher Bloggers, whose blog and video site launches today at www.bleacherbloggers.com. They will be featuring new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays each week, and they were kind enough to include me as their very first special guest on their inaugural show! Their blog and show are dedicated to discussing the good, bad, and ugly of the sports blogging universive…. and I can only hope the Yankees Chick was incorporated into the show under the “good” headline.

Check out the show on the Bleacher Bloggers website or on YouTube! or... right here!